Review: LADY OF A THOUSAND TREASURES / Sandra Byrd

Award-winning author Sandra Byrd pens a new series set in Victorian England, rich in engaging characters and historical detail.

In Lady of a Thousand Treasures, Eleanor Sheffield is a talented appraiser of antiquities in her family’s business, but her unmarried status, her father’s passing and her uncle’s decline puts the family business at risk. A wealthy client’s death offers her the opportunity to evaluate his collection to decide whether a museum should receive his collection, thus winning favor among potential clients, or allow it to pass to her client’s son, Harry, who broke her heart years ago. Mr. Clarkson, her father’s employee, has always been reliable, but when he tries to help her keep the business afloat, does he go too far? Can she separate the brass from the gold in the two men? Which one has her best interests at heart, and which is a knave?

Written in first-person narration, Lady of a Thousand Treasures is filled with elements of a Gothic novel – mystery, romance, and plot twists! Is Harry her happily-ever-after or a wolf in sheep’s clothing? Although the faith element is light, it is clearly evident and not preachy as Eleanor finds her Christian faith tested in her serious circumstances (dwindling finances, debtor’s prison, and more). As always, Byrd excels at the historical detail of art and antiquities during this period.

Recommended for public and church libraries. Fans of Bronte and Victoria Holt will especially enjoy this series, as well fans of the earlier books by Ms. Byrd.